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Most are shocked to hear, but machinists are getting very difficult to find, especially since so many are nearing retirement age. What's even more difficult to find are the specialized ones who program high production, and ultra modern equipment that many companies are looking to get into. They buy these expensive machines, attracted to their high productive capacity, only to find there are very few guys around who know how to program, set up and run them, and they all expect $35/hr at the higher end of the skill level. Some will train, but in a year, these guys usually jump ship for better money, so the company faces a brick wall. Another problem is finding people with a brain worth training, because they sure aren't flocking to this occupation.
I've worked on grinders (surface, wet grinders, centerless, double disk), mills (Haas, prototrak, EZtrak), swiss lathes (stars, tornos and citizen), EDM machines (hole poppers, sinkers) and could have a job tomorrow if I lost mine today. Hardest part is getting all the experience required because most companies pigeonhole their newer guys. Jumping ship actually works to your advantage in this occupation.
There are tons of jobs in the Chicagoland area, and they tend to stay open for a very long time.
You do not need demand to outweigh supply. After all, you only need one job.
Skilled power plant operators are in demand. I know one person who just graduated from a community college who was offered a job at $37/hour.
Ships officers are in demand as well. From engine room mechanics to navigators and captains, employers are snapping up anybody with a credential for great starting pay.
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
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There is a shortage of airline pilots, who are forced to retire at a fairly early age. The farmers are unable to get enough workers to harvest their crops, and even the builders are having trouble finding enough laborers since many found other work when construction stopped in 2008. If you look at the number of foreign employees being brought in recently, there would appear to be software and engineering shortages, but that's more likely due to the quality of education in other countries.
Most are shocked to hear, but machinists are getting very difficult to find, especially since so many are nearing retirement age. What's even more difficult to find are the specialized ones who program high production, and ultra modern equipment that many companies are looking to get into. They buy these expensive machines, attracted to their high productive capacity, only to find there are very few guys around who know how to program, set up and run them, and they all expect $35/hr at the higher end of the skill level. Some will train, but in a year, these guys usually jump ship for better money, so the company faces a brick wall. Another problem is finding people with a brain worth training, because they sure aren't flocking to this occupation.
I'm not surprised by this because, the reality is that most companies don't want to pay a machinist $35/hour. That is the real issue; if the companies were willing to pay they would not have trouble finding people. They aren't willing to pay people very well though.
I'm not surprised by this because, the reality is that most companies don't want to pay a machinist $35/hour. That is the real issue; if the companies were willing to pay they would not have trouble finding people. They aren't willing to pay people very well though.
The old logic dictates that the engineer is the brains, and the machinist is the workhorse. That might have been true before all of this fancy, high performance machinery and cutting edge software, but it's anything but true today. If I'm the programmer in charge of planning cutting operations on 50,000 widgets, and I can shave 6 seconds off the cycle time per part, I've just saved my company 83 hours of work, wages, and machine time. That is 83 more hours of available machine time for the company to make money.
The smart business owners are waking up, because the rules of the game have changed dramatically. They may not want to pay the money, but they don't want to lose their millions of invested dollars because they can't find people to run them either. Problem for folks in the trade is how to acquire the experience and expertise to command $35/hr. Yea, the wages are low for the guy running a bridgeport, but that's because it's a terribly unproductive machine comparatively speaking, but suitable for one offs and protyping simple stuff. There's faster ways to get stuff done, and those companies make more money and can afford to pay for better talent.
Most are shocked to hear, but machinists are getting very difficult to find, especially since so many are nearing retirement age. What's even more difficult to find are the specialized ones who program high production, and ultra modern equipment that many companies are looking to get into. They buy these expensive machines, attracted to their high productive capacity, only to find there are very few guys around who know how to program, set up and run them, and they all expect $35/hr at the higher end of the skill level. Some will train, but in a year, these guys usually jump ship for better money, so the company faces a brick wall. Another problem is finding people with a brain worth training, because they sure aren't flocking to this occupation.
I deal with machine shops all the time and get asked if i know any CNC programers (G code). Seems it's tough to find guys who can program and set up the machines.
It's not an easy skill to learn and requires training and experience. I've had to learn it to run one of my machines.
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